Proctor, Swiderek, other Chiefs earn accolades

Friday

Jun 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The Cheboygan baseball team had arguably its best season in school history this spring.

By Jared Greenleafsports@cheboygantribune.com

The Cheboygan baseball team had arguably its best season in school history this spring. The Chiefs finished with a 24-7-1 record en route to their first district championship in the program's history. A good portion of the Chiefs' success was due to the return of senior pitcher Damon Proctor, who sat out just about the entire 2012 season after tearing his Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during his junior basketball season. But when the Cheboygan ace returned to the Chiefs this season—and stayed healthy throughout it—he didn't miss a beat. Proctor, who will play baseball at Muskegon Community College next season, was recently named the Straits Area Conference Player of the Year for the second time in his career. Proctor, who won the award following a stellar sophomore campaign, was once again the recipient this time around, as he had a season to remember on the mound for the Chiefs. Proctor led the Cheboygan pitching by compiling a 9-1-1 record, striking out 127 batters, issuing just 19 walks, and yielding a remarkable 0.66 earned run average. Cheboygan baseball coach Kevin Baller said Proctor was “extremely” valuable to this year's team success. “For him to come up and put up the numbers that he did this year was impressive,” he said. “He basically did not allow any runs, his ERA was below one. When we went to the All-Region meeting, he had the highest number of strikeouts out of any kids that were being put up for All-District. We (the coaches) were talking about putting him up against kids from Mount Pleasant, Alma, Bay City John Glenn. I mean, these were schools that were ranked number one and two respectively in the state. It was a great honor for him and he's well deserving of it. He's a big reason why we ended up—at the end of the season—being ranked number eight in the state in Division 2.”“Last year, we ended up being 15-15 without Damon. Had he been there, I think it would have been a much different season.”Proctor wasn't the only Chief receiving accolades in the Straits Area Conference. Along with Proctor, senior teammate Stan Swiderek also earned a spot on the All-SAC first team in the outfield, while senior Jake Juillet (outfield) and junior Zach Schley (utility) both secured spots on the second team, and sophomore catcher Nate Stempky (catcher) received an honorable mention nod.Both in the outfield and at the plate, Swiderek was a strong asset for the Chiefs this season, leading the team in batting average (.340), and compiling 35 hits and and 19 stolen bases, both team highs for the Chiefs. Meanwhile, Proctor finished with a .258 average with a team-high four home runs, Schley batted .333 with 29 hits, and Stempky batted .305 with 26 hits. Baller lauded some of his supporting cast players, like Schley, Juillet and Stempky, who all made a significant impact in helping the Chiefs have a district championship-winning season. “All of these kids are great kids,” Baller said. “Jake (Juillet) had a rough year last year, and for him to come back and put up the numbers he did was huge. I mean, he had so many games where he had big hits and scored runs for us. For him to get all-conference honors is a great accomplishment for him. Nate Stempky did the bulk of the catching for us this year. Every single game he worked hard and improved every time. He had some great compliments from opposing coaches. He had three kids attempt to steal bases on him (in regionals) this weekend, and he threw out two of the three. He was almost a perfect 3-for-3 throwing out runners. If it wasn't for him, teams would have been stealing bases this weekend against us, and after he threw out those two runners, and almost threw out the third, they did not run against us. When you can do that, it helps out your pitchers immensely, and also helps out your defense as well. Nate's come a long way this season, so I'm very proud of his accomplishments. He's very deserving. Zach Schley, the last two years, he's put up very good numbers, and he had another good season this year.”“These kids all worked so hard this season, and I'm very proud of them.”Following Cheboygan's 3-1 loss to Remus Chippewa Hills in an MHSAA Division 2 regional final game, Proctor (pitcher), Swiderek (outfield) and senior Tyler Ruprecht (All-Academic) were all honored on the All-Region team. Proctor (pitcher), Swiderek (outfield), Stempky (catcher), Ruprecht (All-Academic) and senior Dan Lemmon (first base) all made the All-District team for the Chiefs. Baller commended his entire team for an exciting run during the regular and postseasons. “These kids did an outstanding job this season,” Baller said. “Every game they showed up and they played hard. They gave it their all, and overall, I was extremely pleased with what I saw from these kids. They came together as a team, they represented the town of Cheboygan well, and I was very pleased with their efforts.”

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